Notes :
(1) 55019 on rear.
(2) D9009 on rear.
(3) During a layover at Georgemas Junction the train was shunted from the main
Wick/Thurso platform to the other less well used one. Anyone asleep at the time
were allowed to stay on. 55019 took the train out on to the single line to Wick
(approx 10ch) and D9009 drew it back into the station (also approx 10ch).
(4) A shunt was made at Forsinard to cross two trains (a class 66-hauled freight
and a service train) as the loop was too short for our train. D9009 drew the
train south onto the single line (approx 15ch), 55019 pulled through the station
and out on to the single line on the north side (approx 15ch out of station) for
D9009 to draw the train back in. Total shunt distance approx 60ch.
(5) Train shunted from one platform the the other. D9009 used to draw train
south out of station on to the single line (approx 15ch) then propel back into
the other platform.
(6) Train ran into platform 5, a bay platform. Prior to leaving Aberdeen the
train was shunted (with some passengers on) out to MP240¾ by D9009 then back
into (through) platform 6 by 55019.

Andrew Laing has calculated the mileages for the tour and
each loco to be as follows;

How on earth do I begin to describe what is without
doubt probably the most ambitious (and outrageous) railtour of all time? Sunday
22nd June saw the start of the Deltic Preservation Society "Freedom of
Scotland" five-day tour of Scotland using two of the societies Deltics -
D9009 "Alycidon" & 55019 "Royal Highland Fusilier". The
five days were to take us all over Scotland visiting many places that had never
seen a Deltic before.

I had travelled up to Preston on the Saturday and stayed in
local hotel. Walking on to Preston station just after nine o'clock on
Sunday morning date soon saw lots of familiar faces. With my chosen hotel
charging £12 for breakfast I chose the cheaper option of a roll and coffee at
the station (£2.85). Being a pleasant warm morning it was nice to sit and watch
the world go by whilst waiting for our train to arrive. The stock arrived
shortly after 11.30 from Carnforth, Deltic 55019 led into the station which
meant D9009 would have the honour of leading the train out of Preston at the
start of the 5-day extravaganza. There were about 90 passengers and seating was
arranged such that we were all allocated into the leading two coaches away from
Preston. After reversal at Edinburgh we were free to sit anywhere, allowing
front coach thrash all the time for those who wanted it. The seven coach consist
was;

FO + FO + TSO + RU + BSK + TS + FO

The two FO's and TSO/FO at the outer ends being primarily
for the bulk of the journey with the RU/TSO in the middle being used for the
on-train meals.

Departure was bang on time and spirits were high as we
powered northwards towards Scotland. A delay at Carnforth ensued owing to single
line working past some engineering works. When our time came we trundled
cautiously through the single line stretch however on reaching the end of it
there was a rather rapid stop as we exploded a detonator. Various stories did
the rounds but the common theme was that we had overshot a hand signalman at the
trackside and thus we had technically "SPADed" (i.e. had passed a
signal at danger). A further delay whilst this was sorted and once we were back
on our way we realised we'd managed to achieve "RST" (i.e. 1 hour
late) within an hour of leaving Preston! I understand the driver involved was
relieved at Carlisle.

We continued northwards via the Carstairs avoider to
Edinburgh Waverley. We were due a 20 minute break here (much needed as I had no
beer supply) but in the event we turned round in about 10 so a beer shop move
was too risky. Our departure from Waverley station was to the strains of a
bagpiper which added nicely to the atmosphere on board.

As I was born in Dundee and have spent quite a bit of time
in the area I was looking forward to the run over the Forth & Tay Bridges to
Aberdeen. Deltic 19 didn't disappoint. Arrival into Aberdeen was on time and we
had two hours to explore. A group of us found a local hostelry (Wagleys Bar
Lounge) and the two hours soon went. We were amused to see a large "what's
on" blackboard which was completely blank - a reflection on Aberdeen life?
The blackboard was suitably altered to show our schedule for the five days and a
couple of seminar photos duly taken.

21.14 and we were off again, now bound for Inverness and
the Far North line. The advantage of running the tour near the longest day was
obvious with "usable" daylight for photography extending well beyond
10pm this far north, as a pathing stop at Huntly demonstrated.

Somewhere around the Inverness avoider I fell asleep, only
to wake up and find ourselves still on the avoiding line. Seems our pilotman had
been sent to Dingwall so we had to wait until he returned to Inverness to meet
our train. My next recollection was somewhere around Tain after 2am. From then
on I enjoyed the thrash up to Georgemas Junction from a window at the front of
the second coach in the formation. It was a little damp which was a shame but
enjoyable nonetheless. We reversed at Georgemas Junction and arrived at Thurso,
most northerly railway station in the UK, a little after 5.30am - taking photos
was no problem as daylight had long since arrived!

Back at Georgemas Junction and there was a pause for
service trains before we headed for Wick. On leaving Wick a full cooked
breakfast was served. Oh, I haven't mentioned the catering facilities yet, have
I? The £800 ticket price had bought an all-inclusive package which included two
nights in hotels and two nights on board. All food and soft drinks were
included. The catering staff and DPS volunteer servers deserve a real big round
of applause and thanks for their efforts, the food was absolutely fantastic and
they dealt with the 90-odd passengers in one sitting with apparent ease.

As we returned south there was a bit of a farce at
Forsinard where we were booked to cross two trains - a freight and a passenger
working. One slight problem, we were too long for the loop! The class 66-hauled
freight arrived and we were then shunted out south onto the single line. Once it
departed we then headed back through the station and out on to the single line
to the north before dropping back into the platform. Once the sprinter had
arrived we were then free to go on our way, somewhat behind time!

To be honest no one much bothered how we were keeping to
the schedule, that wasn't the point of the trip and it was obvious any lost time
could soon be recovered. A reversal at Dingwall was made and 55019 led into the
station at Kyle of Lochalsh. Our evening meal was served as we avoided Inverness
again and I'd finished in time to enjoy the thrash up to the summit at Slochd
which was quite impressive on the part of D9009. Arrival into Aviemore was
pretty well on time a little before 10pm. After a couple of photos we retired to
the Aviemore Hilton for a de-rance and good nights sleep. My room-mate later
told me I was making a very good impression of a pair of Tractors tackling the
Lickey within five minutes of lights out! Me, I never heard a thing :-)

Tuesday morning and time to get on our way again after a
decent breakfast in the hotel. Delays getting the train loaded on the adjacent
Strathspey Railway meant a late departure and thus crossings on the single line
were not as booked. It did however mean a couple of nice unexpected photo-stops,
Blair Atholl being particularly memorable. During a stop in Perth under the
canopy there were smiles all round as D9009's engines were left running - I
think this was the point people began to realise we really were taking a pair of
Deltics on a tour of Scotland!!

A long run now through the Glasgow suburbs (via High Street
Jn to Shields Jn which was required track for me) to Stranraer. I rate the
gradients between Ayr and Stranraer and D9009 certainly made a good show of
getting over them for us, again all enjoyed from "up front" in the
leading coaches. After half an hour at the terminus we then retraced our steps
to Glasgow. There was a brief unexpected pause en-route for an inspection of
Deltic 19's wheelsets as it was reported as having gained wheelflats somewhere
along the way. Thankfully all seemed to be within acceptable limits so there was
no need to consider leaving RHF behind and continuing with a class 37 (as had
been rumoured at one point).

We were running well early by Craigendoran Jn but a track
circuit failure cost us some of the gained time. With a mixture of sleep and
thrash I was awake to witness our arrival into Fort William at 2.40am on the
Wednesday. With a 5.05am booked departure any hopes to go exploring were however
dashed as the station was completely locked up - we had no way to get out!

Whilst many slept on a handful of us got some photos of the
two Deltics, including some with a West Highland Terrier motif attached
(temporarily) in various locations on each loco! 5am and we were off to Mallaig.
Stunning scenery was becoming the norm, though still much appreciated. My phone
was going at 6am as a colleague was out chasing us taking trackside photos and
he was after updates on our progress! We were piped into Mallaig at 6.45am and
the good people of Mallaig had arranged for many of their shops to be open on
our arrival - another much appreciated move. Many were seen writing postcards
and getting them off in the mornings post!

From Mallaig we retraced our steps to Fort William. A pause
at the junction waiting for a platform, vacated by steam loco 61264 on "The
Jacobite" steam-hauled service to Oban. 37418 was in the other platform
with the beds (overnight sleeper from London).

Down now to Crianlarich and one of my colleagues succeeded
in missing the run over Rannoch Moor for a second time as he was asleep! Oban
next stop and about three hours to explore. I included 30 minutes in the library
on an Internet connection to clear out my inbox which had been filled by e-mails
in my absence! Some people chose the offered option of a bus to Fort William,
resulting in an evening there rather than on the train. A 53 seater was
booked...but only 9 passengers took the option, the rest of us preferring the
Deltic mileage (and thrash!). One passenger, as he settled back onto the train,
had a shock to realise he'd lost his wallet - he quickly retraced his
steps to the shop where he last knew he had it - the shop was closed but a note
on the door confirmed it was safe and could be retrieved after 6.45pm...but we
left at 6.23pm! He rang the given phone number and arranged that his wallet
would be sent by taxi to our hotel in Fort William - the £38 taxi ride got his
wallet to the hotel many hours earlier than us!

Back to Fort William and a bed for the night in the hotel
adjacent to the station. I had to wash my hair three times before the water
stopped running black/dark grey!

Last day was pretty well a straight run home back to
Preston. Having got to the hotel post-11pm on Wednesday evening the late start
(10.47am) was much appreciated. A good run south was had and after Glasgow we
were "allowed to run" which resulted in a 75 minute early arrival into
Preston which well pleased a lot of people. Although I could then have got a
train home an offer of a lift was duly taken up and I was home a little after
11pm, tired but very very happy! The final good memory of the many on this trip
was a "seminar" photo next to D9009 - most of the tour participants
participated much to the bemusement of other passengers and staff on the
station. A "three cheers" for Guy Middleton (main organiser of the
tour) & everyone else involved went up and finished with a round of
applause.

Will we ever see a tour like this again? Somehow I doubt
it, yes, it could be repeated (and for sure I'd sign up for it if it was) but I don't think
any re-run would approach the atmosphere of this time round - in this case we certainly
went "boldly where no Deltics have gone before"!! Maybe in a few years
time something similar will be attempted, who knows....

My personal thanks go to Guy Middleton and all the others
involved with the planning and running of this railtour. So, Guy, where to next
year then ... (only joking)?

Between them the locos climbed the height of Mount Everest
plus 2 Ben Nevises.
(Counting every up & down gradient on the route).Timings (Booked & Actual)(from Gary Thornton, David Russell & Nigel Benning)